November 10, 2009

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An administration official has confirmed that Rajiv Shah will be nominated to be the next administrator of USAID.

POLITICO reported yesterday that the 36-year-old USDA chief scientist and undersecretary for research, education and economics, a medical doctor and health economist who previously managed vaccine and agriculture programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, seemed to be the most intriguing and plausible candidate, despite his youth.

Shah did not respond to a query. Several other officials who have waved off other names in the past did not do so in this case, before an administration official who asked for anonymity confirmed today that Shah will be nominated for the job.

A press release on the appointment will be issued at 3pm, a second official, at the White House, said. Shah's official biography and photo to accompany the impending announcement were provided in the meantime.

Congress was also notified today of the impending nomination, a Hill staffer tells POLITICO.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Shah served before coming into the Obama administration last spring at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing agriculture development and financial services programs, as well as manager of the foundation's $1.5 billion vaccine fund. He also has political credentials, having campaigned for Obama, served as the former health care policy adviser to Al Gore's presidential campaign, and as a member of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's health transition committee. He also previously worked at the World Health Organization.

Also of import to the administration — which got deep into a vet of an earlier USAID administrator candidate, global health pioneer Dr. Paul Farmer, to have the nomination not materialize, to Hillary Clinton's open exasperation — Shah was confirmed in April to his USDA undersecretary job just a month after being announced, without any apparent hitch.

Given a major development review under way at the State Department, and an interagency, National Security Council-led U.S. assistance review, development officials said whoever accepted the job would have to be willing to put up with a degree of uncertainty about how the USAID administrator post would shake out in the evolving org chart. They also noted that the administrator will most immediately feed into the larger administration chain of command through Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew.

As reported yesterday, Shah does have a connection to Lew. Lew's former deputy when he headed Bill Clinton's Office of Management and Budget, Sylvia Mathews, became the executive director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2001 when Shah started there, and where he seems to have been extremely well regarded overseeing several programs.

Reaction from the Hill has been very positive so far, the administration official said.

"The churn on the Hill is lots of enthusiasm, despite the young age," the Hill staffer said. "He will be a good antidote to some of the stagnancy currently plaguing the agency and will hopefully have a mandate to fundamentally change the way business is done over there. ... Also hear from the Agriculture Committee staff that he's done a great job thus far and is very well-respected."

He said there was some concern that Shah's youth "may work against him, especially in the interagency context or even in his dealings with State. ... We're hoping he can cobble together a strong coalition to support a strengthened, independent agency that will coordinate with State but remain institutionally separate."

Shah seemed to anticipate working closely with Clinton and USAID when he gave an interview to his hometown Seattle paper in May upon taking the USDA job. "There are times in history when presidents have succeeded in bringing together very powerful people," Shah told the Seattle Post Intelligencer, noting that he was reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals. "He anticipates the Ag Department, the State Department, and Agency for International Development 'will work together as a team' on food issues inside and outside America's borders," the paper added.

Speculation on Shah as a "write-in" candidate was floated by the Center for Global Development blog yesterday, which noted that there was only one more week that the Acting USAID Administrator Alonzo Fulgham could still serve with the "acting" title under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Several development groups expressed relief that there was an appointment after such a long wait. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, speaking on behalf of a coalition of development assistance groups, the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, applauded the nomination in a statement, and urged Congress to confirm Shah quickly, and for the Obama administration to give Shah a seat at the NSC.

UPDATE: Announced: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton applauded the nomination, in a statement: "Dr. Raj Shah is a leader in the development community, an innovative and results-oriented manager, and someone who understands the importance of providing people around the world with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty and chart their own destinies. By nominating Raj to lead [USAID] President Obama has reaffirmed that development must be a core pillar of American foreign policy."

Obama said in his statement: “The mission of USAID is to advance America’s interests by strengthening our relationships abroad. Rajiv brings fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID as it works to achieve this important goal. I am grateful for all that USAID has accomplished under the leadership of Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham, and the thousands of career men and women who fulfill USAID’s mission day in and day out – particularly their hard work in jumpstarting a landmark initiative to bring more than $20 billion for agriculture development to the world's most food-insecure countries. I look forward to working with Rajiv in the months and years ahead.”

Congrats to Dr. Shah -- hopefully he can do great things for our country and the world. (By the way, after the Acting Admininstrator did such an outstanding -- and often thankless job - during the last 10 months, the least you could do is spell his name correctly. Fulgham. With an 'a'.)

Considering this person is managing a US$15 Bn budget, how about some front line experience on development projects? I'm not saying he has to be a development bureaucrat but please -- there should have been more options on the table. I also think age is an issue here -- note in terms of tread on his tires but experience on projects especially since he will mainly be spending less time with his people scattered around 50+ countries worldwide. He also looks ridiculously young. While I commend the Indian American thing, this wont help score points with ground-zero focus for USAID -- Pakistan. Dont get me wrong -- I am a 'young' Asian American too.

You've got to be kidding. I'm sure he's a very smart guy who has done a lot of good things, but all this says to me is that the new administration could care less about having a good candidate at USAID. Which is rather sad when you consider the priority they supposedly place on revamping development.

I have worked with Raj at the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation and he's an incredible man of integrity and hard working. I have no doubt that he will be very successful in this position - age doesn't make a difference with this appointment. He's smart and it won't take him long to demonstrate his leadership capabilities.

The Obama Administration appears to be elevating enthusiasm over experience. Dr. Shah's areas of focus seem to be in line with general development needs and will clearly be of benefit to global health programs and a pro-poor agenda. Not too sure how this will translate into political or economic spheres but perhaps they are moving away from that sort of programming. Dr. Shah has certainly been a part of some innovative initiatives (as his bio tells us again and again). However, the lack of experience of managing large, entrenched government bureaucracies is worrisome. Perhaps I am wrong, but it appears that he was only appointed to his post at USDA in June of 2009. Five months is a bit short to be touting federal management experience. The Gates Foundation is not a federal institution notwithstanding their endless pile of money. If we hope to get anywhere on revising our Cold War era FAR, administrative savvy would be a plus. New faces are good but at times it seems that both domestic and foreign assistance programs are being run by social media-obsessed former campaign operatives, many of whom haven't a clue about their new jobs. Hope he has an action-oriented tenure as the issues of the current foreign aid structure have been studied to death. Enough with the speeches, please do something with substance.

Dr. Shah's appt. says it all.
Should AID be a somewhat altruistic vehicle for international development ala northern and nordic europe.
Or just another report to the Celebrity of State.
Good or bad. This story sez it all.

Based on 40+ years experience working in and with the US foreign assistance programs, I think the biggest task is to extricate USAID from its current position as a tool of the State Department. AID is different from diplomacy, a fact State has never acknowledged.
I'm afraid Shah has neither the experience in foreign assistance, nor the independent power base to battle Hillary on this key issue.

I don't doubt Shah's experience or integrity. But this appointment needs someone with the clout and experience who can stand toe-to-toe with Sec. Clinton. I don't se it in Shah and predict that this will be the end of USAID.

This is a positive step taken by Mr. President; I think it’s better to bring young blood for big challenges. This will bring "new age" ideas in USAID. Working with people 50+ I believe will not be a problem with this young man, in fact his age will give him a positive point by looking at the things from different angles which is the job of a good Administrator.
Good Luck and Best Wishes, Rajiv Shah.

Seriously, "young blood" is all good, but to place a 36-year-old program manager as head of USAID is reckless. I work in international development, know USAID well, and see the difficulties of the entire system. The Agency should be run by someone of greater management experience with people like Shah around him or her. Shah had better pick the right people to work with or they'll eat him alive.

I don't know enough about Shah's background to make an informed judgment about how he's going to perform in this important job.
But I can say that despite their unstinting fiscal generosity, particularly in Africa, but the unvarnished truth is that both the Gateses are rank amateurs, who took up a hobby that only they can afford. I've got serious reservations about them having such an influence over the way Americans' tax dollars are spent.

I'm sure Dr. Shah is a quality individual, but this is a serious mistake for US/Pakistan relations. Pakistan is among the largest recipients of US foreign assistance now, and one of crucial elements of American foreign policy. Having an AID Administrator of Indian origins is ... well, a problem.

He's all for chemical & industrial agriculture, GMOs, and Gates' biotech "green revolution" plans. Good for Monsanto but not looking good for local farmers in developing countries or US support for earth friendly farming.